Uncoupling device for railway cars



March 18, 1930. E. JONES 1,7 ,0 0

UNCOUPLING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed May 28, 1927 avwemto'o EUw/N JONES,

Fatented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES EDWIN JONES, OF EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO UN COUPLING DEVICE Application filed May 28,

This invention relates to uncoupling devices for railway cars and more particularly to two piece uncoupling devices. An object of the invention is to form an uncoupling device which allows enough end play to prevent distortion or binding thereof if the draft gear has excessive slack, which may be due to wear, broken draw springs, bent followers, etc. This result is according to the invention obtained by the size and form of the crank shaft arm and loop, the design of which permits sufficient travel of the connection link to avoid any destruction or distortion thereof. An important object of the invention is to form an uncoupling device which will positively prevent the fouling of the locking pin or prevent said pin from dropping freely when the locking pin is raised to release position, ready to make the neXt coupling, which is usually caused by some part of the connection slipping or binding in the eye of the locking pin preventing the pin from dropping in place when the knuckle is forced back in making the coupling. This defect makes it necessary for train men to go in between the cars and correct the trouble by freeing the lock pin so it will dropin place before the coupling can be made and many men are injured by having to go in bet-ween the cars to overcome this trouble. This trouble is overcome in my invention by the design of the connection, its guides, and the crank arm loops of the uncoupling lever, which positively prevents the connection from tipping to one side or the other and binding in the eye of the locking pin, when the locking pin is raised to release position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a two piece uncoupling device which can be applied or removed from the knuckle locking pin and the crank shaft or uncoupling lever, freely and without the use of any tools, and without having to remove the uncoupling lever from the car or from the brackets which hold the lever in place, but with which an accidental or self loosening of the connection is practically impossible. Such result is obtained by the specific form and design of the crank shaft arm and loop and connection link, which specific form and arrange- FOR RAILWAY CARS 1927. Serial No. 195,055

ment of parts will more readily be understood by the following description and the drawings forming part hereof, and which drawings show in:

Fig. 1, aperspective view of a coupler on a car with my improved uncoupling device; Fig. 2, a front view of the connecting link; Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, side views of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a front view of the crank shaft arm and loop; Fig. 5 a side view of Fig. 4; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are front, side and top views 'of' the uncoupling device in locked position; Figs. 9 and 10 side views of the uncouplingdevice with k'nuckle lock in released position, with the connection link arranged'in difierent position in thecrank shaft loop; Figs. 11 and 12 are side and front views of the uncoupling device with the locking pin of the coupler partly raised for disconnecting or applying connection link from or to crank shaft arm and loop. Fig. 13 is a front view of a modified connecting link.

As shown crank shaft .Zis in the usual manner supported by brackets 3'on the end of the car body 4, slightly above the car coupler-of standard type in which the knuckle is provided with a knuckle look within the coupler head, and the vertically movable lock release pin 5 is provided'as usual. This pin which has to be raised in order to unlock the knuckle, is slidably connected by a special link mem her 7 to the front end of crank shaft 2 having an integral crank arm 6. Crank arm 6 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is provided at its end with two loops, a guiding loop 8 and a disconnecting loop 9 andthis latter is of nearly triangular shape for a purpose later to be described. g

Link member 7 is provided with an upper yoke member 10 and-with a lower depending integral hook or arm 11. The yoke 10 has prongs 12 and 14 standing side by side and connected by a cross piece 16, the rod being bent to form both prongs and extending downwardly and bent to form the lower cross arm 11 parallel to the connection 16 between the prongs 12 and 14. The end of arm 11 is also bent up slightly to form a bill 15 inclined upwardly with respect to the axis of the arm 11 (see Figs. 6 and 7). Both prongs of the yoke are'bent in loops to give the prongs a certain width which prohibits turning and disconnecting of the yoke when connected to crank shaft loop 8, see Figs. 6, 7 and 8.

As the width of the prongs is such that they cannot accidentally pass through the loops8 or 9 ofthe crank shaft arm the device is safe against accidental uncoupling.

' When link member 10 is raised to a certain positionthat is when the locking pin 5 is about half way up between locking and unlocking position as indicated in Fig. ;11, by

a (the unlocked position (see Figs. 9'and 10) being indicated by b) andthe whole link connection is moved into the triangular shaped loop 9, the connection 16 between the two prongs 12 and 14 of link member 10 abuts against the upper inside edge 17 of loop 9 and the lower part 18 of prong 12 is slightly above the loweredge 19 of loop 9.

'In'this position, a tilting and slight turning oflink member 10 and sliding of arm 11 in the hole in the head of pin, 5 causes partial disengagement between'link member 10'and loop 9. To permit further turning and an entire disengagementof link member 10 from the crankshaft loop, arm 11 is slightly bent as at15 and the desired disconnection or connection can readily be made without anydistortion or bending of other parts, the action being illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12.

' This link construction is so arranged, as

i shown in Fig. 7 that it is absolutely impossibleto disengage the parts when locking pin is in a locked position, as in this position the prongs 12 and 14: at opposite'sides ofthe loops 8 d 9 prevent any tiltin ortuming Y of he, link member-1Q v 7 When the locking pin is in a released position, the natural position of. the linkmember 10' is in loop 8, but should link member .10

accidentally slip or be placed into loop 9 such a position would not be sufficient for self disengagement of the link member from the crank shaft arm, as the'weight of the crank shaft arm 6 pressing downwardly upon the connection 16 of prongs 12 and 14 positively forces the connection 16 into a locking position in loop 9. A disengagement-of link 10 is only possible in two positions, that is,

"when locking pin 5 has to, beraised into a'position about half way between its two I limit positions (locked or unlocked) as shown in Figs; 11 and 12,,and when locking pin is raised to a full release positionas shown in Figs. 9 and 10 and the crank shaft arm 6 raised to a certain height, link member .10 can then be adjusted and removed or applied as shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

Fig. '13 shows a modified form of the prongs of the connecting member, the prongs 12 and 1 1 being parallel instead of slightly canted as in theother figures. It may be stated that the. forms of the prongs may be disconnecting of the invention, which comprises a two part of theprongs through one of the loops for the link from the crank-arm and locking pin.- i s 7 2..An uncoupling device comprising a shaft having a crank arm-provided at its" free end with upstanding loops one of which is triangularin shape, and a connecting link having its lower cross arm slidably engaging a coupler locking pin, and having at its upper end a pair -of prongs between which the loops eXtend,-'said--prongs being connected by a cross arm working in the loops, the link I being shiftable laterally, towithdraw one of r 3; An uncoupling device comprising a 'rock shaft having a crank arm 'providedwith a pairof, upstanding communicating loops 'oneof which is disposed at an angle to the" other, anda link adaptedto slidably. engage a coupler lock'pin' and having a pair of upstanding prongs betwee nf which the loops extend, the link'being'shiftable to permit withi drawal of'one of the'prongs through one of the loops when the locking pin is raised but not otherwise.

4. The combination of a crank having an arm provided "with twoupstanding .loops located onein front of the other,-andan up right link having pair ofupstanding prongs at opposite sides of'said. loops, a cross piece connecting said prongs and extending across nectedat one end to onepf said prongs and adapted to slidablyengage a locking pin, the link being shiftable-from one loop to the otherto permit disconnection of the link from the arm when the latter-is in alifted position.f

In testimony whereof, I do affix my signature. s

' EDWIN J ONES."

the prongs through the triangular loop when the coupler locking pin 'isilifted, andwnotf otherwise. Y

above the arm, and alower cross arm con- 7 "changed without departing from the scope 

